Cross-plane filtering for chroma signal enhancement in video coding

ABSTRACT

Cross-plane filtering may be used to restore blurred edges and/or textures in one or both chroma planes using information from a corresponding luma plane. Adaptive cross-plane filters may be implemented. Cross-plane filter coefficients may be quantized and/or signaled such that overhead in a bitstream minimizes performance degradation. Cross-plane filtering may be applied to select regions of a video image (e.g., to edge areas). Cross-plane filters may be implemented in single-layer video coding systems and/or multi-layer video coding systems.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationNos. 61/707,682, filed Sep. 28, 2012, 61/762,611, filed Feb. 8, 2013,61/778,218, filed Mar. 12, 2013, and 61/845,792, filed Jul. 12, 2013,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Video coding systems are often used to compress digital video signals,for instance to reduce storage space consumed and/or to reducetransmission bandwidth consumption associated with such signals. Forexample, block-based hybrid video coding systems are widely deployed andfrequently used.

Digital video signals typically have three color planes including a lumaplane, a blue-difference chroma plane, and a red-difference chromaplane. Pixels of the chroma planes typically have smaller dynamic rangesthan pixels of the luma plane, such that the chroma planes of a videoimage are typically smoother and/or have less detail than the lumaplane. A chroma block of a video image may thus be easier to accuratelypredict, for example consuming fewer resources and/or resulting in lessprediction error.

However video coding using known chroma prediction techniques may resultin video images with significantly blurred edges and/or textures in thechroma planes.

SUMMARY

Cross-plane filtering may be used to restore blurred edges and/ortextures in one or both chroma planes using information from acorresponding luma plane. Adaptive cross-plane filters may beimplemented. Cross-plane filter coefficients may be quantized and/orsignaled such that overhead in a bitstream is affordable (e.g., reducedand/or minimized) without performance degradation. One or morecharacteristics of a cross-plane filter (e.g., size, separability,symmetry, etc.) may be determined such that overhead in a bitstream isaffordable (e.g., reduced and/or minimized) without performancedegradation. Cross-plane filtering may be applied to videos with variouscolor subsampling formats (e.g., 4:4:4, 4:2:2, and 4:2:0). Cross-planefiltering may be applied to select regions of a video image, for exampleto edge areas and/or to areas specified by one or more parameterssignaled in a bitstream. Cross-plane filters may be implemented insingle-layer video coding systems and/or multi-layer video codingsystems.

An example video decoding process in accordance with cross-planefiltering may include receiving a video signal and a cross-plane filterthat is associated with the video signal. The video decoding process mayinclude applying the cross-plane filter to a luma plane pixel of thevideo signal to determine a chroma offset. The video decoding processmay include adding the chroma offset to a corresponding chroma planepixel of the video signal.

A video coding device may be configured for cross-plane filtering. Thevideo coding device may include a network interface that is configuredto receive a video signal and a cross-plane filter that is associatedwith the video signal. The video coding device may include a processorthat is configured to apply the cross-plane filter to a luma plane pixelof the video signal to determine a chroma offset. The processor may beconfigured to add the chroma offset to a corresponding chroma planepixel of the video signal.

An example video encoding process in accordance with cross-planefiltering may include receiving a video signal. The video encodingprocess may include generating a cross-plane filter using components ofthe video signal. The video encoding process may include quantizing afilter coefficient associated with the cross-plane filter. The videoencoding process may include encoding the filter coefficient into abitstream that is representative of the video signal. The video encodingprocess may include transmitting the bitstream.

A video coding device may be configured for cross-plane filtering. Thevideo coding device may include a network interface that is configuredto receive a video signal. The video coding device may include aprocessor that is configured to generate a cross-plane filter usingcomponents of the video signal. The processor may be configured toquantize a filter coefficient associated with the cross-plane filter.The processor may be configured to encode the filter coefficient into abitstream that is representative of the video signal. The processor maybe configured to transmit the bitstream, for example via the networkinterface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example block-based videoencoder.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example block-based videodecoder.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example two-layer spatialscalable video encoder.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example two-layer spatialscalable video decoder.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example inter-layer predictionprocessing and management unit.

FIG. 6A depicts an example 4:4:4 color subsampling format.

FIG. 6B depicts an example 4:2:2 color subsampling format.

FIG. 6C depicts an example 4:2:0 color subsampling format.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of cross-planefiltering.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are block diagrams illustrating another example ofcross-plane filtering.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are block diagrams illustrating another example ofcross-plane filtering.

FIG. 10A depicts an example size and support region of a cross-planefilter (filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) for a select chroma pixel in 4:4:4.

FIG. 10B depicts an example size and support region of a cross-planefilter (filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) for a select chroma pixel in 4:2:2.

FIG. 10C depicts an example size and support region of a cross-planefilter (filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) for a select chroma pixel in 4:2:0.

FIG. 11A depicts an example unified size and support region of across-plane filter (filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) for a select chromapixel in 4:4:4.

FIG. 11B depicts an example unified size and support region of across-plane filter (filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) for a select chromapixel in 4:2:2.

FIG. 11C depicts an example unified size and support region of across-plane filter (filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) for a select chromapixel in 4:2:0.

FIG. 12A depicts an example lack of symmetry property of an examplecross-plane filter.

FIG. 12B depicts an example horizontal and vertical symmetry property ofan example cross-plane filter.

FIG. 12C depicts an example vertical symmetry property of an examplecross-plane filter.

FIG. 12D depicts an example horizontal symmetry property of an examplecross-plane filter.

FIG. 12E depicts an example point symmetry property of an examplecross-plane filter.

FIG. 13A depicts example horizontal and vertical one-dimensional filterswithout symmetry.

FIG. 13B depicts example horizontal and vertical one-dimensional filterswith symmetry.

FIG. 14 is an example syntax table that illustrates an example ofsignaling a set of cross-plane filter coefficients.

FIGS. 15A and 15B depict example arrangements of cross-plane filtercoefficients.

FIG. 16 is an example syntax table that illustrates an example ofsignaling multiple sets of cross-plane filter coefficients.

FIG. 17 is an example syntax table that illustrates an example ofsignaling information that specifies a region for cross-plane filtering.

FIG. 18 depicts an example of a plurality of image regions detected inaccordance with an implementation of region-based cross-plane filtering.

FIG. 19 is an example syntax table that illustrates an example ofsignaling information pertaining to multiple regions together withmultiple sets of cross-plane filter coefficients.

FIG. 20 depicts an example picture-level selection algorithm forcross-plane filtering.

FIG. 21A depicts a system diagram of an example communications system inwhich one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

FIG. 21B depicts a system diagram of an example wirelesstransmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communicationssystem illustrated in FIG. 21A.

FIG. 21C depicts a system diagram of an example radio access network andan example core network that may be used within the communicationssystem illustrated in FIG. 21A.

FIG. 21D depicts a system diagram of an example radio access network andan example core network that may be used within the communicationssystem illustrated in FIG. 21A.

FIG. 21E depicts a system diagram of an example radio access network andan example core network that may be used within the communicationssystem illustrated in FIG. 21A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example block-based video encoder. An input videosignal 102 may be processed, for example block by block. A video blockunit may comprise 16×16 pixels. Such a block unit may be referred to asa macroblock (MB). A video block unit size may be extended, for exampleto 64×64 pixels. Extended size video blocks may be used to compress highresolution video signals (e.g., 1080 p video signals and beyond).Extended block sizes may be referred to as coding units (CUs). A CU maybe partitioned into one or more prediction units (PUs), for whichseparate prediction methods may be applied.

For one or more input video blocks (e.g., each input video block), suchas MBs or CUs, spatial prediction 160 and/or temporal prediction 162 maybe performed. Spatial prediction 160, which may be referred to as intraprediction, may use pixels from one or more already coded neighboringblocks in a video picture and/or slice, for example to predict a videoblock. Spatial prediction 160 may reduce spatial redundancy that may beinherent in a video signal. Temporal prediction 162, which may bereferred to as inter prediction and/or motion compensated prediction mayuse pixels from one or more already coded video pictures, for example topredict a video block. Temporal prediction may reduce temporalredundancy that may be inherent in a video signal. A temporal predictionsignal for a video block may include one or more motion vectors and/orone or more reference picture indexes, for example if multiple referencepictures are used, in order to identify from which reference pictures ina reference picture store 164 the temporal prediction signal mayoriginate.

After spatial prediction and/or temporal prediction are performed, amode decision block 180 (e.g., in an encoder) may choose a predictionmode, for example based on a rate-distortion optimization method. Aprediction block may be subtracted from a video block 116. A predictionresidual may be transformed 104 and/or quantized 106. One or morequantized residual coefficients may be inverse quantized 110 and/orinverse transformed 112, for example to form a reconstructed residual.The reconstructed residual may be added to a prediction block 126, forexample to form a reconstructed video block.

Further in-loop filtering, such as one or more deblocking filters and/orAdaptive Loop Filters 166 may be applied on the reconstructed videoblock, for example before it is stored in the reference picture store164 and/or used to code subsequent video blocks. To form an output videobitstream 120, a coding mode (e.g., inter or intra), prediction modeinformation, motion information, and/or quantized residual coefficientsmay be sent to an entropy coding unit 108, for example to be furthercompressed and/or packed to form the bitstream 120.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block-based video decoder that maycorrespond to the block-based encoder depicted in FIG. 1. A videobitstream 202 may be unpacked and/or entropy decoded, for example at anentropy decoding unit 208. A coding mode and/or prediction informationmay be sent to a spatial prediction unit 260 (e.g., for intra coding) ora temporal prediction unit 262 (e.g., for inter coding), for example toform a prediction block. One or more residual transform coefficients maybe sent to an inverse quantization unit 210 and/or an inverse transformunit 212, for example to reconstruct a residual block. The predictionblock and the residual block may be added together at 226, for exampleto form a reconstructed block. The reconstructed block may be processedthrough in-loop filtering (e.g., using a loop filter 266), for examplebefore being added to a reconstructed output video 220 to be transmitted(e.g., to a display device) and/or before being stored in a referencepicture store 264, for example for use in predicting one or moresubsequent video blocks.

Video may be consumed on devices with varying capabilities in terms ofcomputing power, memory and/or storage size, display resolution, displayframe rate, etc., for example by smart phones and/or tablets. Networkand/or transmission channels may have varying characteristics in termsof packet loss rate, available channel bandwidth, burst error rate, etc.Video data may be transmitted over a combination of wired networksand/or wireless networks, which may complicate one or more underlyingvideo transmission channel characteristics. In such scenarios, scalablevideo coding may improve a video quality provided by video applications,for instance video quality provided by video applications running ondevices with different capabilities over heterogeneous networks.

Scalable video coding may encode a video signal in accordance with ahighest representation (e.g., temporal resolution, spatial resolution,quality, etc.), but may enable decoding from respective subsets of oneor more video streams, for example in accordance with a specified rateand/or representation employed by one or more applications running on aclient device. Scalable video coding may enable bandwidth and/or storagesavings.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example two-layer scalable video coding systemhaving one base layer (BL) and one enhancement layer (EL). Spatialresolutions between the two layers may be different, such that spatialscalability may be applied. A base layer encoder (e.g., a HighEfficiency Video Coding (HEVC) encoder) may encode a base layer videoinput, for example block by block, and may generate a base layerbitstream (e.g., in accordance with the block diagram depicted in FIG.1). An enhancement layer encoder may encode an enhancement layer videoinput, for example block by block, and may generates an enhancementlayer bitstream (e.g., in accordance with the block diagram depicted inFIG. 1). A coding efficiency of a scalable video coding system (e.g.,the coding efficiency of enhancement layer coding) may be improved. Forexample, signal correlation from a base layer reconstructed video may beused to improve prediction accuracy.

A base layer reconstructed video may be processed such that at leastportions of one or more processed base layer pictures may be insertedinto an enhancement layer Decoded Picture Buffer (EL DPB) and/or used topredict an enhancement layer video input. A base layer video and anenhancement layer video may be substantially the same video sourcerepresented in respective different spatial resolutions, such that theycorrespond to each other via a downsampling process, for example.Inter-layer prediction (ILP) processing may be carried out by aninter-layer processing and/or management unit, such as an upsamplingoperation that may be used to align a spatial resolution of a base layerreconstruction with that of an enhancement layer video. A scalable videocoding bitstream may include a base layer bitstream, an enhancementlayer bitstream produced by the base and enhancement layer encoders,and/or inter-layer prediction information.

Inter-layer prediction information may be produced by the ILP processingand management unit. For example, ILP information may include one ormore of the following: a type of inter-layer processing applied; one ormore parameters used in the processing (e.g., which upsampling filtersare used); which of one or more processed base layer pictures should beinserted into an EL DPB; etc. The base and enhancement layer bitstreamsand/or the ILP information may be multiplexed together, for example toform a scalable bitstream (e.g., an SHVC bitstream).

FIG. 4 illustrates an example two-layer scalable video decoder that maycorrespond to the scalable encoder depicted in FIG. 3. The decoder mayperform one or more operations, for example in a reverse order relativeto the encoder. The scalable bitstream may be de-multiplexed into a baselayer bitstream, an enhancement layer bitstream, and/or the ILPinformation. The base layer decoder may decode a base layer bitstreamand/or may produce a base layer reconstruction.

The ILP processing and management unit may receive the ILP informationand/or may process the base layer reconstruction, for example inaccordance with the received ILP information. The ILP processing andmanagement unit may selectively insert one or more processed base layerpictures into an EL DPB, for example in accordance with the received ILPinformation. An enhancement layer decoder may decode the enhancementlayer bitstream, for example with a combination of temporal referencepictures and/or inter-layer reference pictures (e.g., one or moreprocessed base layer pictures), in order to reconstruct an enhancementlayer video. For the purposes of the instant disclosure, the terms“inter layer reference picture” and “processed base layer pictures” maybe used interchangeably.

FIG. 5 depicts an example inter-layer prediction and processingmanagement unit, for example as may be implemented in the exampletwo-layer spatial scalable video encoder depicted in FIG. 3 and/or theexample two-layer spatial scalable video decoder depicted in FIG. 4. Theinter-layer prediction and processing management unit may include one ormore stages (e.g., three stages as depicted in FIG. 5). In a first stage(e.g., Stage 1), the BL reconstructed picture may be enhanced (e.g.,before it is upsampled). In a second stage (e.g., Stage 2), upsamplingmay be performed (e.g., when a resolution of the BL is lower than aresolution of the EL in spatial scalability). An output of the secondstage may have a resolution that is substantially the same as that ofthe EL with a sampling grid aligned. An enhancement may be performed ina third stage (e.g., Stage 3), for example before the upsampled pictureis put in the EL DPB, which may improve inter-layer reference picturequality.

None, one, or more of the above-described three stages may be performedby the inter-layer prediction and processing management unit. Forexample, in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scalability, where a BL picturemay have substantially the same resolution as an EL picture but withlower quality, one or more of the above-described three stages (e.g.,all the stages) may not be performed, for example such that the BLreconstructed picture may be inserted into EL DPB directly forinter-layer prediction. In spatial scalability, the second stage may beperformed, for example to make an upsampled BL reconstructed picturehave an aligned sampling grid relative to an EL picture. The first andthird stages may be performed to improve inter-layer reference picturequality, which may help achieve higher efficiency in EL coding, forexample.

Performing picture level ILP in a scalable video coding system (e.g., asillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4) may reduce implementation complexity, forexample because respective base layer and/or enhancement layer encoderand/or decoder logics, for example at a block level, may be at leastpartially reused without changes. High level (e.g., picture and/or slicelevel) configurations may implement insertion of one or more respectiveprocessed base layer pictures into an enhancement layer DPB. To improvecoding efficiency, one or more block level changes may be allowed in thescalable system, for example in order to facilitate block-levelinter-layer prediction, which may be in addition to picture levelinter-layer prediction.

The herein described single and/or multi-layer video coding systems maybe used for coding color videos. In a color video, each pixel carryingluminance and chrominance information may be made of a combination ofrespective intensities of primary colors (e.g., YCbCr, RGB, or YUV).Each video frame of a color video may be composed of three rectangulararrays, corresponding to three color channels. One or more samples in acolor channel (e.g., each color channel) may have discrete and/or finitemagnitudes, which in digital video applications may be represented using8-bit values. The red, green, and blue (RGB) primary may be used invideo capture and/or display systems.

In video coding and/or transmission, video signals in the RGB space maybe converted into one or more other color spaces (e.g., with luminanceand/or chrominance coordinates), such as YUV, for PAL and SECAM TVsystems, and YIQ for NTSC TV systems, for example to reduce bandwidthconsumption and/or for compatibility with monochrome video applications.A value of a Y component may represent a brightness of a pixel, whilethe other two components (e.g., Cb and Cr) may bear chrominanceinformation. A digital color space (e.g., YCbCr) may be a scaled and/orshifted version of an analog color space (e.g., YUV). A transformationmatrix for deriving a YCbCr coordinate from an RGB coordinate may berepresented as equation (1).

$\begin{matrix}{\begin{bmatrix}Y \\{Cb} \\{Cr}\end{bmatrix} = {{\begin{bmatrix}0.257 & 0.504 & 0.098 \\{- 0.148} & {- 0.291} & 0.439 \\0.439 & {- 0.368} & {- 0.071}\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}R \\G \\B\end{bmatrix}} + \begin{bmatrix}16 \\128 \\128\end{bmatrix}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

Because the human vision system (HVS) may be less sensitive to colorthan to brightness, the chrominance components Cb and Cr may besubsampled with little degradation of perceived video quality. A colorsubsampling format may be indicated by a triplet of digits separated bycolons. For example, in accordance with a 4:2:2 color subsamplingformat, a horizontal sampling rate for chrominance components may reduceto half while a vertical sampling rate may be unchanged. In accordancewith a 4:2:0 color subsampling format, in order to reduce an associateddata rate the sampling rate for chrominance components may be reduced tohalf in both horizontal and vertical directions. In accordance with a4:4:4 color subsampling format that may be used for applications usingvery high video quality, the chrominance components may have samplingrates substantially identical to the sampling rate used for theluminance component. Example sampling grids illustrating luminance andchrominance samples for the above-described color subsampling formatsare depicted in FIGS. 6A-6C, respectively.

The Y, Cb, and Cr color planes of a frame in a video sequence may becorrelated in content (e.g., highly correlated), but the two chromaplanes may exhibit fewer textures and/or edges than the luma plane. Thethree color planes may share a same motion. When a block-based hybridvideo coding system (e.g., in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2) is appliedto a color block, the three planes within the block may not be codedseparately. If the color block is coded by inter prediction, the twochroma blocks may reuse motion information of the luma block, such as amotion vector and/or a reference index. If the color block is coded byintra prediction, the luma block may have more prediction directions tochoose than do one or both of the two chroma blocks, for instancebecause luma blocks may have more diverse and/or stronger edges.

For example, in accordance with H.264/AVC intra prediction, luma blocksmay have nine candidate directions, whereas chroma blocks may have fourcandidate directions. In accordance with HEVC intra prediction, chromablocks may have four candidate directions, and luma blocks may have morethan four candidate directions (e.g., thirty five candidate directions).Respective transform and/or quantization processes for the luma and/orchroma prediction errors may be performed separately, for example afterintra or inter prediction. At low bit-rates (e.g., where a QP for a lumais larger than thirty four) a chroma may have a lighter quantization(e.g., a smaller quantization stepsize) than a corresponding luma, forexample because the edges and/or textures in chroma planes may be moredelicate and may suffer more from heavy quantization, which may causevisible artifacts, such as color bleeding.

A device that is configured to perform video coding (e.g., to encodeand/or decode video signals) may be referred to as a video codingdevice. Such video coding devices may include video-capable devices, forexample a television, a digital media player, a DVD player, a Blu-Ray™player, a networked media player device, a desktop computer, a laptoppersonal computer, a tablet device, a mobile phone, a video conferencingsystem, a hardware and/or software based video encoding system, or thelike. Such video coding devices may include wireless communicationsnetwork elements, such as a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), abase station, a gateway, or other network elements.

A video coding device may be configured to receive video signals (e.g.,video bitstreams) via a network interface. A video coding device mayhave a wireless network interface, a wired network interface, or anycombination thereof. For example, if the video coding device is awireless communications network element (e.g., a wireless transmitreceive unit (WTRU)), the network interface may be a transceiver of theWTRU. In another example, if the video coding device is a video-capabledevice that is not configured for wireless communication (e.g., aback-end rack encoder) the network interface may be a wired networkconnection (e.g., a fiber optic connection). In another example, thenetwork interface may be an interface that is configured to communicatewith a physical storage medium (e.g., an optical disk drive, a memorycard interface, a direct connection to a video camera, or the like). Itshould be appreciated that the network interface is not limited to theseexamples, and that the network interface may include other interfacesthat enable a video coding device to receive video signals.

A video coding device may be configured to perform cross-plane filteringon one or more video signals (e.g., a source video signal received by anetwork interface of the video coding device).

Cross-plane filtering may be used, for example, to restore blurred edgesand/or textures in one or both chroma planes using information from acorresponding luma plane. Adaptive cross-plane filters may beimplemented. Cross-plane filter coefficients may be quantized and/orsignaled such that overhead in a bitstream reduces (e.g., minimizes)performance degradation, for example in accordance with a thresholdlevel of transmission performance of a bitstream associated with thevideo signal. Cross-plane filter coefficients may be transmitted in thebitstream (e.g., an output video bitstream) and/or may be transmittedout of band with respect to the bitstream.

One or more characteristics of a cross-plane filter (e.g., size,separability, symmetry, etc.) may be determined such that overhead in abitstream is affordable, without performance degradation. Cross-planefiltering may be applied to videos with various color subsamplingformats (e.g., including 4:4:4, 4:2:2, and 4:2:0). Cross-plane filteringmay be applied to select regions of a video image (e.g., to edge areasand/or to one or more that may be signaled in the bitstream).Cross-plane filters may be implemented in single-layer video codingsystems. Cross-plane filters may be implemented in multi-layer videocoding systems.

A luma plane may be used as guidance to improve the quality of one orboth chroma planes. For example, one or more portions of informationpertaining to a luma plane may be blended into corresponding chromaplanes. For the purposes of the instant disclosure, the three colorplanes of an original (e.g., uncoded) video image may be denoted asY_org, Cb_org, and Cr_org, respectively, and the three color planes of acoded version of the original video image may be denoted as Y_rec,Cb_rec, and Cr_rec, respectively.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of cross-plane filtering that may be used,for example, to transform Y_rec, Cb_rec, and Cr_rec back to an RGBspace, where the three planes are denoted as R_rec, G_rec, and B_rec,respectively, using an inverse process (e.g., process (1) depictedabove). Y_org, Cb_org, and Cr_org may be transformed back to an RGBspace (e.g., at substantially the same time), such that respectiveoriginal RGB planes may be obtained, denoted as R_org, G_org, and B_org.A least square (LS) training method may take plane pairs (R_org, R_rec),(G_org, G_rec), and (B_org, B_rec) as a training data set to train threefilters for the R, G, and B planes, respectively, denoted as filter_R,filter_G, and filter_B. By using filter_R, filter_G, and filter_B tofilter_R_rec, G_rec, and B_rec, respectively, three improved RGB planesmay be obtained, denoted as R_imp, G_imp, and B_imp, and/or distortionsbetween R_org and R_imp, G_org and G_imp, and B_org and B_imp,respectively, may be reduced (e.g., minimized), compared with respectivedistortions between R_org and R_rec, G_org and G_rec, and B_org andB_rec. R_imp, G_imp, and B_imp may be transformed to the YCbCr space,and Y_imp, Cb_imp, and Cr_imp may be obtained, where Cb_imp and Cr_impmay be an output of the cross-plane filtering process.

Converting a color space, for example back and forth as illustrated inFIG. 7, may consume computational resources (e.g., an undesirably largeamount of computational resources) of one or both of the encoder and/ordecoder sides. Because the space converting processes and filteringprocesses are both linear, at least a portion of the illustratedcross-plane filtering procedure may be approximated, for example using asimplified process where one or more of the operations (e.g., all of theoperations) are performed in the YCbCr space.

As shown in FIG. 8A, in order to improve the quality of Cb_rec, an LStraining module may take Y_rec, Cb_rec, Cr_rec, and Cb_org as a trainingdata set and optimal filters filter_Y4Cb, filter_Cb4Cb, andfilter_Cr4Cb, which may be jointly derived, may be applied to Y_rec,Cb_rec, and Cr_rec, respectively. Respective outputs of the filtering onthe three planes may be added together, for example, to obtain animproved Cb plane, denoted as Cb_imp. The three optimal filters may betrained by the LS method such that distortion between Cb_imp and Cb_orgmay be minimized, for example in accordance with equation (2)(filter_(Y4Cb),filter_(Cb4Cb),filter_(Cr4Cb))=arg min E[(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cb) +Cb _(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cb) +Cr _(rec)

filter_(Cr4Cb) −Cb _(org))²]  (2)where

represents two dimensional (2-D) convolution, + and − represent matrixaddition and subtraction, respectively, and E[(X)²] represents the meanof the square of each element in matrix X.

As shown FIG. 8B, in order to improve the quality of Cr_rec, an LStraining module may take Y_rec, Cb_rec, Cr_rec, and Cr_org as a trainingdata set and optimal filters filter_Y4Cr, filter_Cb4Cr, andfilter_Cr4Cr, which may be jointly derived, may be applied to Y_rec,Cb_rec, and Cr_rec, respectively. Respective outputs of the filtering onthe three planes may be added together, for example, to obtain animproved Cr plane, denoted as Cr_imp. The three optimal filters may betrained by the LS method such that distortion between Cr_imp and Cr_orgmay be minimized, for example in accordance with equation (3).(filter_(Y4Cr),filter_(Cb4Cr),filter_(Cr4Cr))=arg min E[(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cr) +Cb _(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cr) +Cr _(rec)

filter_(Cr4Cr) −Cr _(org))²]  (3)

Cr may contribute little to improving Cb. Cb may contribute little toimproving Cr.

The cross-plane filtering techniques illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B maybe simplified. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the quality of a Cbplane may be improved by employing the Y and Cb planes, but not the Crplane, in LS training, such that two filters, filter_Y4Cb andfilter_Cb4Cb, may be jointly derived and may be applied to Y and Cb,respectively. Respective outputs of the filters may be added together,for example to obtain an improved Cb plane, denoted Cb_imp.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the quality of a Cr plane may be improved byemploying the Y and Cr planes, but not the Cb plane, in LS training,such that two filters, filter_Y4Cr and filter_Cr4Cr, may be jointlyderived and may be applied to Y and Cr, respectively. Respective outputsof the filters may be added together, for example to obtain an improvedCr plane, denoted Cr_imp.

The cross-plane filtering techniques illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B mayreduce respective computational complexities of training and/orfiltering, and/or may reduce overhead bits transmitting the cross-planefilter coefficients to the decoder side, such that performancedegradation may be marginal.

In order to implement cross-plane filtering in a video coding system,one or more of the following may be addressed: cross-plane filter sizedetermination; cross-plane filter coefficient quantization and/ortransmission (e.g., signaling); or adapting cross-plane filtering to oneor more local areas.

In order to train optimal cross-plane filters, suitable filter sizes maybe determined. The size of a filter may be roughly proportional to thesize of overhead associated with the filter and/or a computationalcomplexity of the filter. For example, a 3×3 filter may have nine filtercoefficients to be transmitted, and may employ nine multiplications andeight additions to accomplish filtering one pixel. A 5×5 filter may havetwenty five filter coefficients to be transmitted and may employ twentyfive multiplication and twenty four additions to filter one pixel.Larger size filters may achieve lower minimum distortion (e.g., as inequations (2) and (3)) and/or may provide better performance. Filtersize may be selected in order balance of computational complexity,overhead size, and/or performance, for example.

Trained filters that may be applied to a plane itself, such asfilter_Cb4Cb and filter_Cr4Cr, may be implemented as low-pass filters.Trained filters that may be used for cross-planes, such as filter_Y4Cb,filter_Y4Cr, filter_Cb4Cr, and filter_Cr4Cb, may be implemented ashigh-pass filters. Using different filters of differing sizes may havelittle influence on the performance of a corresponding video codingsystem. The size of a cross-plane filter may be kept small (e.g., assmall as possible), for example such that performance penalties arenegligible. For example, cross-plane filter size may be selected suchthat substantially no performance loss is observed. Large sizecross-plane filters may be implemented (e.g., M×N cross-plane filters,where M and N may be integers).

For example, for low-pass filters, such as filter_Cb4Cb andfilter_Cr4Cr, the filter size may be implemented as 1×1, such that thefilter has one coefficient multiplied to respective pixels to befiltered. The filter coefficient of the 1×1 filter_Cb4Cb andfilter_Cr4Cr may be fixed to be 1.0, such that the filter_Cb4Cb andfilter_Cr4Cr may be saved (e.g., not applied and/or not signaled).

For high-pass filters, such as filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr, the filtersize may be dependent on or independent of the color sampling format.Cross-plane filter size may depend on the color sampling format. Forexample, a size and/or support region of a cross-plane filter (e.g.,filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr) may be implemented for a select chromapixel, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10C, where circles mayrepresent respective positions of luma samples, solid triangles mayrepresent respective positions of chroma samples, and luma samples usedto filter a select chroma sample (e.g., as represented by an outlinetriangle) may be represented by grayed circles. As illustrated, thefilter size of filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr may be 3×3 for 4:4:4 and4:2:2 color formats, and may be 4×3 for 4:2:0 color format. The filtersize may be independent of the color format, for example as depicted inFIGS. 11A-11C. The filter size may be 4×3, for example in accordancewith the size for 4:2:0 format.

A cross-plane filtering process may apply a trained high-pass filter ona Y plane and may take the filtering result, denoted Y_offset4Cb andY_offset4Cr, as an offset that may be added to a corresponding pixel ina chroma plane, for example in accordance with equations (4) and (5).Y_offset4Cb=Y_rec

filter_Y4Cb and Y_offset4Cr=Y_rec

filter_Y4CrCb_imp=Cb_rec+Y_offset4Cb and Cr_imp=Cr_rec+Y_offset4Cr  (4)

Cross-plane filter coefficients may be quantized. Trained cross-planefilters may have real-value coefficients that may be quantized, forexample before transmission. For example, filter_Y4Cb may be roughlyapproximated by an integer filter, denoted as filter_int. Elements infilter_int may have small dynamic range (e.g., from −8 to 7 inaccordance with a 4-bit representation). A second coefficient, denotedas coeff., may be used in order to make filter_int approach filter_Y4Cbmore accurately, for example in accordance with equation (6).filter_Y4Cb≈filter_int×coeff.  (6)

In equation (6), coeff., a real-valued number, may be approximated byM/2^(N), where M and N are integers, for example in accordance withequation (7).filter_Y4Cb≈filter_int×M/2^(N)  (7)

To transmit filter_Y4Cb, the coefficients in filter_int, together with Mand N, may be coded in the bitstream, for example. The above-describedquantization technique may be extended, for example, in order toquantize filter_Y4Cr.

Cross-plane filters (e.g., the filter_Y4Cb and/or the filter_Y4Cr) mayhave flexible separability and/or symmetries. Cross-plane filterproperties introduced herein may be described in relation to an example4×3 cross-plane filter (e.g., in accordance with FIG. 10A-10C or11A-11C), but may be applicable to other filter sizes.

Cross-plane filters may have various symmetry properties, for example asdepicted in FIGS. 12A-12E. A cross-plane filter may have no symmetry,for example as depicted in FIG. 12A. Each square may represent onefilter coefficient, and may be labeled with a unique index, which mayindicate that its value may be different from those of the remainingfilter coefficients. A cross-plane filter may have horizontal andvertical symmetry, for example as depicted in FIG. 12B, such that acoefficient may have the same value as one or more correspondingcoefficients in one or more other quadrants. A cross plane filter mayhave vertical symmetry, for example as depicted in FIG. 12C. A crossplane filter may have horizontal symmetry, for example as depicted inFIG. 12D. A cross plane filter may have point symmetry, for example asdepicted in FIG. 12E.

Cross-plane filters are not limited to the symmetries illustrated inFIGS. 12A-12E, and may have one or more other symmetries. A cross planefilter may have a symmetry if at least two coefficients in a filter havethe same value (e.g., at least two coefficients may be labeled with thesame index). For example, for high pass cross-plane filters (e.g.,filter_Y4Cb and filter_Y4Cr), it may be beneficial to enforce nosymmetry on one or more (e.g., all) coefficients along the boundaries ofthe filter support region, but enforce some symmetry (e.g., horizontaland vertical, horizontal, vertical, or point symmetry) on one or more(e.g., all) of the inner coefficients of the filter support region.

A cross-plane filter may be separable. For example cross-plane filteringusing a 4×3 two dimensional filter may be equivalent to applying a 1×3horizontal filter to the lines (e.g., during the first stage) andapplying a 4×1 vertical filter to the columns of the output of the firststage (e.g., during the second stage). The order of the first and secondstages may be changed. Symmetry may be applied to the 1×3 horizontalfilter and/or the 4×1 vertical filter. FIGS. 13A and 13B depict two onedimensional filters without and with symmetry, respectively.

Whether or not the cross-plane filter is separable and/or symmetric, thecoding of filter coefficients into the bitstream may be limited tofilter coefficients having unique values. For example, in accordancewith the cross-plane filter depicted in FIG. 12A, twelve filtercoefficients (indexed with 0 to 11) may be coded. In accordance with thecross-plane filter depicted in FIG. 12B, four filter coefficients(indexed with 0 to 3) may be coded. Implementing symmetry in across-plane filter may reduce overhead size (e.g., in a video signalbitstream).

A summation of the filter coefficients of a cross-plane filter may equalto zero, for example if the cross-plane filters (e.g., filter_Y4Cb andfilter_Y4Cr) are high-pass filters. In accordance with this property,which may be a constraint, a coefficient (e.g., at least onecoefficient) in a cross-plane filter may have a magnitude equal to thesummation of the other coefficients but may have the opposite sign. If across-plane filter has X coefficients to be transmitted (e.g., with Xequal to 12 as depicted in FIG. 12A), X−1 coefficients may be coded intothe bitstream (e.g., explicitly coded). A decoder may receive the X−1coefficients and may derive (e.g., implicitly derive) the value of theremaining coefficient, for example based on the zero-summationconstraint.

Cross-plane filtering coefficients may be signaled, for example in avideo bitstream. The example syntax table of FIG. 14 illustrates anexample of signaling a set of two dimensional, non-separable, asymmetriccross-plane filter coefficients for a chroma plane (e.g., Cb or Cr). Thefollowing may apply to entries in the example syntax table. The entrynum_coeff_hori_minus1 plus one (+1) may indicate a number ofcoefficients in a horizontal direction of the cross-plane filter. Theentry num_coeff_vert_minus1 plus one (+1) may indicate a number ofcoefficients in a vertical direction of the cross-plane filter. Theentry num_coeff_reduced_flag equal to 0 may indicate that a number ofthe cross-plane filter coefficients may be equal to(num_coeff_hori_minus1+1)×(num_coeff_vert_minus1+1), for example asdepicted in FIG. 15A. As shown in FIG. 15A, num_coeff_hori_minus1 isequal to 2 and num_coeff_vert_minus1 is equal to 3.

The entry num_coeff_reduced_flag equal to 1 may indicate that a numberof cross-plane filter coefficients, which may typically be equal to(num_coeff_hori_minus1+1)×(num_coeff_vert_minus1+1), may be reduced to(num_coeff_hori_minus1+1)×(num_coeff_vert_minus1+1)−4, for example byremoving the four corner coefficients, for instance as depicted in FIG.15B. The support region of a cross-plane filter may be reduced, forexample, by removing the four corner coefficients. Employing thenum_coeff_reduced_flag entry may provide enhanced flexibility, forexample in whether or not filter coefficients are reduced.

The entry filter_coeff_plus8 [i] minus 8 may correspond to an ithcross-plane filter coefficient. The value of filter coefficients may bein a range, for example, of −8 to 7. In such a case, the entryfilter_coeff_plus8 [i] may be in the range of 0 to 15, and may be coded,for example, in accordance with 4-bit fixed-length coding (FLC). Theentries scaling_factor_abs_minus1 and scaling_factor_sign may togetherspecify a value of a scaling factor (e.g., M in equation (7)) asfollows:M=(1−2*scaling_factor_sign)*(scaling_factor_abs_minus1+1)

The entry bit_shifting may specify a number of bits to be right shiftedafter a scaling process. This entry may represent N in equation (7).

Different regions of a picture may have different statisticalproperties. Deriving cross-plane filter coefficients for one or moresuch regions (e.g., for each such region) may improve chroma codingperformance. To illustrate, different sets of cross-plane filercoefficients may be applied to different regions of a picture or aslice, for which multiple sets of cross-plane filter coefficients may betransmitted at the picture level (e.g., in an adaptive picture set(APS)) and/or at the slice level (e.g., in a slice header).

If cross-plane filtering is used in a post-processing implementation,for example applied to a reconstructed video before the video isdisplayed, one or more sets of filter coefficients may be transmitted asa supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message. For each colorplane, a total number of filter sets may be signaled. If the number isgreater than zero, one or more sets of cross-plane filter coefficientsmay be transmitted, for example sequentially.

The example syntax table of FIG. 16 illustrates an example of signalingmultiple sets of cross-plane filter coefficients in an SEI message thatmay be named cross_plane_filter( ). The following may apply to entriesin the example syntax table. The entry cross_plane_filter_enabled_flagequal to one (1) may specify that cross-plane filtering is enabled. Incontrast, the entry cross_plane_filter_enabled_flag equal to zero (0)may specify that cross-plane filtering is disabled.

The entry cb_num_of_filter_sets may specify a number of cross-planefilter coefficients sets that may be used for coding the Cb plane of acurrent picture. The entry cb_num_of_filter_sets equal to zero (0) mayindicate that cross-plane filtering is not applied on the Cb plane ofthe current picture. The entry cb_filter_coeff [i] may be the ith set ofcross-plane filter coefficients for the Cb plane. The entrycb_filter_coeff may be a data construct, and may include one or more ofnum_coeff_hori_minus1, num_coeff_vert_minus1, num_coeff_reduced_flag,filter_coeff_plus8, scaling_factor_abs_minus1, scaling_factor_sign, orbit_shifting.

The entry cr_num_of_filter_sets may specify a number of cross-planefilter coefficients sets that may be used for coding the Cr plane of acurrent picture. The entry cr_num_of_filter_sets equal to zero (0) mayindicate that cross-plane filtering is not applied on the Cr plane ofthe current picture. The entry cr_filter_coeff [i] may be the ith set ofcross-plane filter coefficients for Cr plane. The entry cr_filter_coeffmay be a data construct, and may include one or more ofnum_coeff_hori_minus1, num_coeff_vert_minus1, num_coeff_reduced_flag,filter_coeff_plus8, scaling_factor_abs_minus1, scaling_factor_sign, orbit_shifting.

Region-based cross-plane filtering may be implemented. Cross-planefiltering may be adapted for filtering one or more local areas in avideo image, for instance if it is desired to recover a loss of highfrequency information in associated chroma planes (e.g., with guidanceof the luma plane). For example, cross-plane filtering may be applied toan area rich in edges and/or textures. Edge detection may be performedfirst, for example in order to find one or more regions wherecross-plane filter may be applied. A high-pass filter, such asfilter_Y4Cb and/or filter_Y4Cr, may first be applied to the Y plane.

A magnitude of a filtering result may imply whether a filtered pixel isin a high frequency area. A large magnitude may indicate sharp edges ina region of the filtered pixel. A magnitude close to zero may indicatethat the filtered pixel is in a homogeneous region. A threshold may beemployed to measure a filtering output by filter_Y4Cb and/orfilter_Y4Cr. The filtering output may be added to a corresponding pixelin the chroma plane, for example if it is greater than the threshold.For example, respective chroma pixels in smooth regions may not bechanged, which may avoid random filtering noise. Region-basedcross-plane filtering may reduce video coding complexity whilemaintaining coding performance. For example, region information, whichmay include one or more regions, may be signaled to a decoder.

In an implementation of region-based cross-plane filtering, one or moreregions with different statistical properties (e.g., smooth, colorful,texture, and/or edge-rich areas) may be detected, for example on theencoder side. A plurality of cross-plane filters may be derived andapplied to corresponding ones of the one or more regions. Informationpertaining to respective ones of the one or more regions may betransmitted to the decoder side. Such information may include, forexample, the area of the region, the location of the region, and/or aspecific cross-plane filter to apply to the region.

The example syntax table of FIG. 17 illustrates an example of signalinginformation pertaining to a particular region. The following may applyto entries in the example syntax table. The entries top_offset,left_offset, right_offset, and bottom_offset may specify an area and/orlocation of a current region. The entries may be representative ofrespective distances, for example in terms of pixels, from the top,left, right, and bottom sides of a current region to the correspondingfour sides of an associated picture, for example as depicted in FIG. 18.

The cross_plane_filtering_region_info ( ) may include informationpertaining to cross-plane filtering of a specified region of a Cb plane,cross-plane filtering of a specified region of a Cr plane, or tocross-plane filtering of respective specified regions of a Cb plane anda Cr plane.

The entry cb_filtering_enabled_flag equal to one (1) may indicate thatcross-plane filtering for a current region of the Cb plane is enabled.The entry cb_filtering_enabled_flag equal to zero (0) may indicate thatcross-plane filtering for the current region of the Cb plane isdisabled. The entry cb_filter_idx may specify that the cross-planefilter cb_filter_coeff [cb_filter_idx] (e.g., signaling cb_filter_coeffas depicted in FIG. 16) may be applied to the current region of the Cbplane.

The entry cr_filtering_enabled_flag equal to one (1) may indicate thatcross-plane filtering for a current region of the Cr plane is enabled.The entry cr_filtering_enabled_flag equal to zero (0) may indicate thatcross-plane filtering for the current region of the Cr plane isdisabled. The entry cr_filter_idx may specify that the cross-planefilter cr_filter_coeff [cr_filter_idx] (e.g., signaling cr_filter_coeffas depicted in FIG. 16) may be applied to the current region of the Crplane.

Information pertaining to one or more regions may be transmitted at thepicture level (e.g., in an APS or an SEI message) or at the slice level(e.g., in a slice header). The example syntax table of FIG. 19illustrates an example of signaling multiple regions together withmultiple cross-plane filters in an SEI message that may be namedcross_plane_filter( ). Information pertaining to regions is italicized.

The following may apply to entries in the example syntax table. Theentry cb_num_of_regions_minus1 plus 1(+1) may specify a number ofregions in the Cb plane. Each region may be filtered by a correspondingcross-plane filter. The entry cb_num_of_regions_minus1 equal to zero (0)may indicate that an entirety of the Cb plane may be filtered by onecross-plane filter. The entry cb_region_info [i] may be the ith regioninformation in the Cb plane. The entry cb_region_info may be a dataconstruct, and may include one or more of top_offset, left_offset,right_offset, bottom_offset, cb_filtering_enabled_flag, orcb_filter_idx.

The entry cr_num_of_regions_minus1 plus 1 (+1) may specify a number ofregions in the Cr plane. Each region may be filtered by a correspondingcross-plane filter. The entry cr_num_of_regions_minus1 equal to zero (0)may indicate that an entirety of the Cr plane may be filtered by onecross-plane filter. The entry cr_region_info [i] may be the ith regioninformation in the Cr plane. The entry cr_region_info may be a dataconstruct, and may include one or more of top_offset, left_offset,right_offset, bottom_offset, cr_filtering_enabled_flag, orcr_filter_idx.

Cross-plane filtering may be used in single-layer video coding systems,and/or in multi-layer video coding systems. In accordance withsingle-layer video coding (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2),cross-plane filtering may be applied, for example to improve referencepictures (e.g., pictures stored in reference picture stores 164 and/or264), such that one or more subsequent frames may be better predicted(e.g., with regard to the chroma planes).

Cross-plane filtering may be used as a post-processing method. Forexample, cross-plane filtering may be applied to a reconstructed outputvideo 220 (e.g., before it is displayed). Although such filtering maynot be a part of an MCP loop, and thus may not influence coding ofsubsequent pictures, the post-processing may improve (e.g., directly)quality of a video for display. For example, cross-plane filtering maybe applied in HEVC postprocessing with supplemental enhancementinformation (SEI) signaling. Cross-plane filter information estimated atan encoder side may be delivered, for example, in an SEI message.

In accordance with an example of using multi-layer video coding (e.g.,as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4), cross-plane filtering may be appliedto one or more upsampled BL pictures, for example before the one or morepictures are placed in the EL DPB buffer (e.g., a reference picturelist) for predicting higher layer pictures. As depicted in FIG. 5,cross-plane filtering may be performed in the third stage. To improvethe quality of one or both chroma planes in an upsampled base layerreconstruction picture (e.g., an ILP picture), a corresponding lumaplane involved in training and/or filtering may be one from the same ILPpicture, where the training and/or filtering processes may be the sameas used in single-layer video coding.

In accordance with another example of using multi-layer video coding, acorresponding luma plane may be used (e.g., directly) in the base layerreconstruction picture, without upsampling, to support cross-planetraining and/or filtering, for example to enhance the chroma planes inthe ILP picture. For example, in accordance with a 2× spatial SVC with a4:2:0 video source, the size of a base layer luma plane may besubstantially the same (e.g., exactly the same) as a size of one or bothcorresponding chroma planes in the ILP picture. The sampling grids ofthe two types of planes may be different. The luma plane in the baselayer picture may be filtered by a phase-correction filter, for instancein order to align (e.g., exactly align) with a sampling grid of thechroma planes in the ILP picture. One or more following operations maybe the same as those described elsewhere herein, for example forsingle-layer video coding. The color format may be considered as 4:4:4(e.g., in accordance with FIG. 10A or FIG. 11A). Using the base layerluma plane to support cross-plane filtering for the chroma planes in anILP picture may be extended to other ratios of spatial scalabilityand/or other color formats, for example by simple derivation.

In accordance with another example of using multi-layer video coding,cross-plane filtering may be applied to a reconstructed base layerpicture that has not been upsampled. An output of the cross-planefiltering may be upsampled. As depicted in FIG. 5, cross-plane filteringmay be performed in the first stage. In a spatial scalability case(e.g., where the BL has lower resolution than the EL), cross-planefiltering may be applied to fewer pixels, which may involve lowercomputational complexity than one or more of the other multi-layer videocoding examples described herein. The equations (2) and (3) may not bedirectly applied, for example because, with reference to equation (2),Y_(rec)

filter_(Y4Cb)+Cb_(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cb)+Cr_(rec)

filter_(Cr4Cb) and Cb_(org) may have different dimensions and may notsubtract directly. Y_(rec), Cb_(rec), and Cr_(rec) may have the sameresolution as in a base layer picture. Cb_(org) may have the sameresolution as in an enhancement layer picture. The derivation ofcross-plane filter coefficients in accordance with this example ofmulti-layer video coding may be achieved using equations (8) and (9)(filter_(Y4Cb),filter_(Cb4Cb),filter_(Cr4Cb))=arg min E[(U(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cb) +Cb _(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cb) +Cr _(rec)

filter_(Cr4Cb))−Cb _(org))²]  (8)(filter_(Y4Cr),filter_(Cb4Cr),filter_(Cr4Cr))=arg min E[(U(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cr) +Cb _(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cr) +Cr _(rec)

filter_(Cr4Cr))−Cr _(org))²]  (9)where U may be an upsampling function that may take a base layer pictureas an input, and may output an upsampled picture with the enhancementlayer resolution.

In accordance with the cross-plane filtering technique illustrated inFIGS. 9A and 9B, a chroma plane may be enhanced by the luma plane and byitself (e.g., excluding the other chroma plane), and equations (8) and(9) may be simplified, for example as illustrated in equations (10) and(11).(filter_(Y4Cb),filter_(Cb4Cb))=arg min E[(U(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cb) +Cb _(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cb))−Cb _(org))²]  (10)(filter_(Y4Cr),filter_(Cb4Cr))=arg min E[(U(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cr) +Cb _(rec)

filter_(Cb4Cr))−Cr _(org))²]  (11)

Based on the cross-plane filtering technique illustrated in FIGS. 9A and9B, the size of filter_Cb4Cb and/or filter_Cr4Cr may be reduced to 1×1and the value of the filter coefficient may be set to 1.0. Equations(10) and (11) may be simplified, for example as illustrated in equations(12) and (13).filter_(Y4Cb)=arg min E[(U(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cb) +Cb _(rec))−Cb _(org))²]  (12)filter_(Y4Cr)=arg min E[(U(Y _(rec)

filter_(Y4Cr) +Cb _(rec))−Cr _(org))²]  (13)

Cross-plane filtering may be adaptively applied. For example, whenapplied to multi-layer video coding, cross-plane filtering may beadaptively applied, for instance in the first and/or third stages asdepicted in FIG. 5.

Cross-plane filtering may be adaptively applied to one or more codinglevels, for example including one or more of a sequence-level, apicture-level, a slice-level, or a block-level. In accordance withsequence-level adaptation, for example, an encoder may determine toemploy cross-plane filtering in the first stage and/or the third stagefor coding a portion of a video sequence (e.g., the entirety of thevideo sequence). Such a determination may be represented, for example asa binary flag that may be included in a sequence header and/or in one ormore sequence-level parameter sets, such as a video parameter set (VPS)and/or a sequence parameter set (SPS).

In accordance with picture-level adaptation, for example, an encoder maydetermine to employ cross-plane filtering in the first stage and/or thethird stage for coding one or more EL pictures (e.g., each EL picture ofa video sequence). Such a determination may be represented, for exampleas a binary flag that may be included in a picture header and/or in oneor more picture-level parameter sets, such as an adaptive parameter set(APS) and/or a picture parameter set (PPS).

In accordance with slice-level adaptation, for example, an encoder maydetermine to employ cross-plane filtering in the first stage and/or thethird stage for coding one or more EL video slices (e.g., each ELslice). Such a determination may be represented, for example as a binaryflag that may be included in a slice header. Signaling mechanisms, suchas the above-described, may be implemented in accordance with (e.g.,extended to) one or more other level adaptations.

Picture-based cross-plane filtering may be implemented for multi-layervideo coding, for example. Information related to such cross-planefiltering may be signaled. For example, one or more flags, such asuplane_filtering_flag and/or vplane_filtering_flag, may be coded, forexample once per picture, and may be transmitted to a decoder. The flagsuplane_filtering_flag and/or vplane_filtering_flag may indicate, forexample, whether cross-plane filtering should be applied to the Cb planeand/or to the Cr plane, respectively. An encoder may determine whetherto enable or disable cross-plane filtering for either chroma plane ofone or more pictures (e.g., on a picture-by-picture basis). An encodermay be configured to make such a determination, for example, to improvecoding performance and/or in accordance with desired levels of codingperformance and complexity (e.g., turning on cross-plane filtering mayincrease decoding complexity).

An encoder may be configured to employ one or more techniques todetermine whether to apply picture-based cross-plane filtering to one ormore chroma planes. For example, in accordance with an example ofperforming picture-level selection, Cb planes before and afterfiltering, for example Cb_rec and Cb_imp, may be compared with anoriginal Cb plane, for example Cb_org, in an EL picture. Mean squareerror (MSE) values before and after the filtering, that may be denotedas MSE_rec and MSE_imp, respectively, may be calculated and may becompared. In an example, MSE_imp may be smaller than MSE_rec, which mayindicate that applying cross-plane filtering may reduce distortion, andcross-plane filtering may be enabled on the Cb plane. If MSE_imp is notsmaller than MSE_rec, cross-plane filtering may be disabled on the Cbplane. In accordance with this technique, MSE may be calculated on awhole picture basis, which may mean that a single weighting factor maybe applied to one or more pixels (e.g., each pixel) in the MSEcalculation.

In accordance with another example of performing picture-levelselection, MSE may be calculated based on one or more pixels involved inILP, for example based on only those pixels involved in ILP. When theencoder determines whether to apply cross-plane filtering on the Cbplane, the ILP map for the picture may not be available yet. Forexample, the determination may be made before coding the EL picture,whereas the ILP map may be unavailable until the EL picture has beencoded.

In accordance with another example of performing picture-levelselection, a multi-pass encoding strategy may be employed. In a firstpass, the EL picture may be encoded and the ILP map may be recorded. Ina second pass, the determination of whether to use cross-plane filteringmay be made, for example in accordance with an MSE calculation that maybe limited to ILP blocks marked by the ILP map. The picture may beencoded in accordance with this determination. Such multi-pass encodingmay be time-consuming, and may involve greater computational complexitywhen compared to single-pass encoding.

One or more moving objects in respective pictures (e.g., respectivepictures of a video sequence) may be more likely to be coded by the ILPpicture than non-moving objects. The ILP maps of successive pictures(e.g., successive pictures of a video sequence) may be correlated (e.g.,may exhibit a high degree of correlation). Such successive ILP maps mayexhibit one or more displacements (e.g., relatively small displacements)relative to each other. Such displacements may be attributed torespective different time instances of the pictures, for example.

In accordance with another example of performing picture-levelselection, the ILP maps of one or more previously coded EL pictures maybe used to predict an ILP map of a current EL picture to be coded. Thepredicted ILP map may be used to locate one or more blocks that may belikely to be used for ILP in coding the current EL picture. Such likelyto be used blocks may be referred to as potential ILP blocks. One ormore potential ILP blocks may be included in calculating the MSE (e.g.,as described above) and/or may be used in determining whether to applycross-plane filtering, for example based on the calculated MSE.

The dimension of the ILP map may depend, for example, on a granularitythat an encoder selects. If the dimension of the picture is W×H (e.g.,in terms of luma resolution), for example, the dimension of the ILP mapmay be W×H, in which an entry may represent whether a correspondingpixel is used for ILP. The dimension of the ILP map may be (W/M)×(H/N),in which an entry may represent whether a corresponding block of sizeM×N is used for ILP. In accordance with an example implementation, M=N=4may be selected.

An accurate ILP map, for example recorded after the EL picture is coded,may be a binary map, such that entries (e.g., each entry) may be limitedto one of two possible values (e.g., zero (0) or one (1)) that mayindicate whether the entry is used for ILP. The values of 0 and 1 mayindicate for example, that the entry is used for ILP or is not used forILP, respectively.

The predicted ILP map may be a multi-level map. In accordance with suchan ILP map, each entry may have multiple possible values that mayrepresent multiple-level confidence in predicting the block to be usedfor ILP. Larger values may be indicative of higher confidence. Inaccordance with an example implementation, possible values of thepredicted ILP map from 0 to 128 may be used, where 128 represents ahighest confidence and 0 represents a lowest confidence.

FIG. 20 depicts an example picture-level selection algorithm 2000 forcross-plane filtering. The illustrated picture-level selection algorithmmay be applied to, for example, the Cb plane and/or the Cr plane. At2010, for example before encoding a first picture, a predicted ILP map,denoted as PredILPMap, may be initialized. In accordance with thedepicted algorithm, it may be assumed that each block may have an equalchance to be used for ILP, and the value of each entry of the PredILPMapmay be set to 128.

At 2020, the encoder may determine whether to apply cross-planefiltering. An enhanced Cb plane, Cb_imp, may be generated by cross-planefiltering. A weighted MSE may be calculated, using equations (14) and(15) for example.

$\begin{matrix}{{Weighted}_{{MSE}_{imp}} = {\frac{4}{{Width} \times {Height}}{\sum\limits_{x = 0}^{{{Width}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{\sum\limits_{y = 0}^{{{Height}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{{{PredILPMap}\left( {\frac{x}{4},\frac{y}{4}} \right)}\left( {{{Cb}_{imp}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)} - {{Cb}_{org}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)}} \right)^{2}}}}}} & (14) \\{{Weighted}_{{MSE}_{rec}} = {\frac{4}{{Width} \times {Height}}{\sum\limits_{x = 0}^{{{Width}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{\sum\limits_{y = 0}^{{{Height}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{{{PredILPMap}\left( {\frac{x}{4},\frac{y}{4}} \right)}\left( {{{Cb}_{rec}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)} - {{Cb}_{org}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)}} \right)^{2}}}}}} & (15)\end{matrix}$

In equations (14) and (15), Cb_rec and Cb_imp may represent the Cb planebefore and after cross-plane filtering, Cb_org may represent an originalCb plane of the current EL picture to be coded, and (x, y) may representa position of a certain pixel in the grid of the luma plane. As shown,equations (14) and (15) assume 4:2:0 color subsampling and that an entryof the ILP map represents a 4×4 block size, so the correspondingpositions in the Cb plane and PredILPMap may be (x/2, y/2) and (x/4,y/4), respectively. For each pixel, the squared error(Cb_imp(x/2,y/2)−Cb_org(x/2,y/2))² or (Cb_rec(x/2,y/2)−Cb_org(x/2,y/2))²may be weighted by a corresponding factor in PredILPMap, for examplebefore the error is accumulated into Weighted_MSE_imp orWeighted_MSE_rec. This may mean that distortion on one or more pixelsthat are more likely to be used for ILP may have higher weight in theweighted MSE.

Alternatively or additionally at 2020, an enhanced Cr plane, Cr_imp, maybe generated by cross-plane filtering. A weighted MSE may be calculated,using equations (16) and (17) for example.

$\begin{matrix}{{Weighted}_{{MSE}_{imp}} = {\frac{4}{{Width} \times {Height}}{\sum\limits_{x = 0}^{{{Width}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{\sum\limits_{y = 0}^{{{Height}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{{{PredILPMap}\left( {\frac{x}{4},\frac{y}{4}} \right)}\left( {{{Cr}_{imp}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)} - {{Cr}_{org}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)}} \right)^{2}}}}}} & (16) \\{{Weighted}_{{MSE}_{rec}} = {\frac{4}{{Width} \times {Height}}{\sum\limits_{x = 0}^{{{Width}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{\sum\limits_{y = 0}^{{{Height}\text{/}2} - 1}\;{{{PredILPMap}\left( {\frac{x}{4},\frac{y}{4}} \right)}\left( {{{Cr}_{rec}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)} - {{Cr}_{org}\left( {\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}} \right)}} \right)^{2}}}}}} & (17)\end{matrix}$

In equations (16) and (17), Cr_rec and Cr_imp may represent the Cr planebefore and after cross-plane filtering, Cr_org may represent an originalCr plane of the current EL picture to be coded, and (x, y) may representa position of a certain pixel in the grid of the luma plane. As shown,equations (16) and (17) assume 4:2:0 color subsampling and that an entryof the ILP map represents a 4×4 block size, so the correspondingpositions in the Cr plane and PredILPMap may be (x/2, y/2) and (x/4,y/4), respectively. For each pixel, the squared error(Cr_imp(x/2,y/2)−Cr_org(x/2,y/2))² or (Cr_rec(x/2,y/2)−Cr_org(x/2,y/2))²may be weighted by a corresponding factor in PredILPMap, for examplebefore the error is accumulated into Weighted_MSE_imp orWeighted_MSE_rec. This may mean that distortion on one or more pixelsthat are more likely to be used for ILP may have higher weight in theweighted MSE.

Weighted_MSE_imp and Weighted_MSE_rec may be compared to one another. IfWeighted_MSE_imp is smaller than Weighted_MSE_rec, which may indicatethat cross-plane filtering may reduce distortion (e.g., distortion ofone or more of the potential ILP blocks) cross-plane filtering may beenabled. If Weighted_MSE_imp is not smaller than Weighted_MSE_rec,cross-plane filtering may be disabled.

Once the determination is made at 2020, the current EL picture may beencoded at 2030, and the current ILP map, which may be denoted asCurrILPMap, may be recorded at 2040. The current ILP map may be used,for example, with an EL picture subsequent to the current EL picture.The current ILP map may be accurate, rather than predicted, and may bebinary. If a corresponding block is used for ILP, the value of the entryfor that block may be set to 128. If the corresponding block is not usedfor ILP the value of the entry for that block may be set to zero (0).

At 2050, the current ILP map may be used to update the predicted ILPmap, for example as shown in equation (18). In accordance with anexample updating process, a sum of the previously predicted ILP map(e.g., PredILPMap(x,y)) and the current ILP map (e.g., CurrILPMap(x,y))may be divided by two, which may mean that an ILP map associated withanother picture may have a relatively small impact on the updatedpredicted ILP map.

$\begin{matrix}{{{{PredILPMap}\left( {x,y} \right)} = {{\frac{{{PredILPMap}\left( {x,y} \right)} + {{CurrILPMap}\left( {x,y} \right)}}{2}0} \leq x < \frac{Width}{4}}},\mspace{79mu}{0 \leq y < \frac{Height}{4}}} & (18)\end{matrix}$

At 2060, it may be determined whether an end of the video sequence hasbeen reached. If the end of the video sequence has not been reached, oneor more of the above-described operations (e.g., 2020 to 2060) may berepeated, for example to code successive EL pictures. If the end of thevideo sequence has been reached, the example picture-level selectionalgorithm 2000 may terminate at 2070.

The herein described video coding techniques, for example employingcross-plane filtering, may be implemented in accordance withtransporting video in a wireless communication system, such as theexample wireless communication system 2100, and components thereof,depicted in FIGS. 21A-21E.

FIG. 21A is a diagram of an example communications system 2100 in whichone or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. For example, awireless network (e.g., a wireless network comprising one or morecomponents of the communications system 2100) may be configured suchthat bearers that extend beyond the wireless network (e.g., beyond awalled garden associated with the wireless network) may be assigned QoScharacteristics.

The communications system 2100 may be a multiple access system thatprovides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast,etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 2100 mayenable multiple wireless users to access such content through thesharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example,the communications systems 2100 may employ one or more channel accessmethods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 21A, the communications system 2100 may include atleast one wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), such as a plurality ofWTRUs, for instance WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, and 2102 d, a radioaccess network (RAN) 2104, a core network 2106, a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) 2108, the Internet 2110, and other networks2112, though it should be appreciated that the disclosed embodimentscontemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or networkelements. Each of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d may be anytype of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wirelessenvironment. By way of example, the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 dmay be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and mayinclude user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobilesubscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer,a wireless sensor, consumer electronics, and the like.

The communications systems 2100 may also include a base station 2114 aand a base station 2114 b. Each of the base stations 2114 a, 2114 b maybe any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at leastone of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d to facilitate access toone or more communication networks, such as the core network 2106, theInternet 2110, and/or the networks 2112. By way of example, the basestations 2114 a, 2114 b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), aNode-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a site controller, anaccess point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the basestations 2114 a, 2114 b are each depicted as a single element, it shouldbe appreciated that the base stations 2114 a, 2114 b may include anynumber of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

The base station 2114 a may be part of the RAN 2104, which may alsoinclude other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such asa base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relaynodes, etc. The base station 2114 a and/or the base station 2114 b maybe configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals within aparticular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (notshown). The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example,the cell associated with the base station 2114 a may be divided intothree sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 2114 a mayinclude three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. Inanother embodiment, the base station 2114 a may employ multiple-inputmultiple output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize multipletransceivers for each sector of the cell.

The base stations 2114 a, 2114 b may communicate with one or more of theWTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d over an air interface 2116, whichmay be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency(RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.).The air interface 2116 may be established using any suitable radioaccess technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 2100 may bea multiple access system and may employ one or more channel accessschemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. Forexample, the base station 2114 a in the RAN 2104 and the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c may implement a radio technology such as Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), whichmay establish the air interface 2116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMAmay include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access(HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed DownlinkPacket Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

In another embodiment, the base station 2114 a and the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTSTerrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface2116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

In other embodiments, the base station 2114 a and the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102b, 2102 c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.16 (i.e.,Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000,CDMA2000 1×, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), InterimStandard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System forMobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 2114 b in FIG. 21A may be a wireless router, Home NodeB, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize anysuitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area,such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like.In one embodiment, the base station 2114 b and the WTRUs 2102 c, 2102 dmay implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish awireless local area network (WLAN). In another embodiment, the basestation 2114 b and the WTRUs 2102 c, 2102 d may implement a radiotechnology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal areanetwork (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 2114 b andthe WTRUs 2102 c, 2102 d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA,CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell.As shown in FIG. 21A, the base station 2114 b may have a directconnection to the Internet 2110. Thus, the base station 2114 b may notbe required to access the Internet 2110 via the core network 2106.

The RAN 2104 may be in communication with the core network 2106, whichmay be any type of network configured to provide voice, data,applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to oneor more of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d. For example, thecore network 2106 may provide call control, billing services, mobilelocation-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, videodistribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, suchas user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 21A, it should beappreciated that the RAN 2104 and/or the core network 2106 may be indirect or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the sameRAT as the RAN 2104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition tobeing connected to the RAN 2104, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radiotechnology, the core network 2106 may also be in communication withanother RAN (not shown) employing a GSM radio technology.

The core network 2106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d to access the PSTN 2108, the Internet 2110,and/or other networks 2112. The PSTN 2108 may include circuit-switchedtelephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). TheInternet 2110 may include a global system of interconnected computernetworks and devices that use common communication protocols, such asthe transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP)and the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite.The networks 2112 may include wired or wireless communications networksowned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, thenetworks 2112 may include another core network connected to one or moreRANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 2104 or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d in thecommunications system 2100 may include multi-mode capabilities, i.e.,the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, 2102 d may include multipletransceivers for communicating with different wireless networks overdifferent wireless links. For example, the WTRU 2102 c shown in FIG. 21Amay be configured to communicate with the base station 2114 a, which mayemploy a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 2114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

FIG. 21B is a system diagram of an example WTRU 2102. As shown in FIG.21B, the WTRU 2102 may include a processor 2118, a transceiver 2120, atransmit/receive element 2122, a speaker/microphone 2124, a keypad 2126,a display/touchpad 2128, non-removable memory 2130, removable memory2132, a power source 2134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset2136, and other peripherals 2138. It should be appreciated that the WTRU2102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements whileremaining consistent with an embodiment.

The processor 2118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine,and the like. The processor 2118 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the WTRU 2102 to operate in a wirelessenvironment. The processor 2118 may be coupled to the transceiver 2120,which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 2122. While FIG.21B depicts the processor 2118 and the transceiver 2120 as separatecomponents, it should be appreciated that the processor 2118 and thetransceiver 2120 may be integrated together in an electronic package orchip.

The transmit/receive element 2122 may be configured to transmit signalsto, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 2114a) over the air interface 2116. For example, in one embodiment, thetransmit/receive element 2122 may be an antenna configured to transmitand/or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, the transmit/receiveelement 2122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/orreceive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet anotherembodiment, the transmit/receive element 2122 may be configured totransmit and receive both RF and light signals. It should be appreciatedthat the transmit/receive element 2122 may be configured to transmitand/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

In addition, although the transmit/receive element 2122 is depicted inFIG. 21B as a single element, the WTRU 2102 may include any number oftransmit/receive elements 2122. More specifically, the WTRU 2102 mayemploy MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 2102 mayinclude two or more transmit/receive elements 2122 (e.g., multipleantennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the airinterface 2116.

The transceiver 2120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 2122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 2122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 2102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 2120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU2102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as UTRA and IEEE 802.11, forexample.

The processor 2118 of the WTRU 2102 may be coupled to, and may receiveuser input data from, the speaker/microphone 2124, the keypad 2126,and/or the display/touchpad 2128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). Theprocessor 2118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 2124,the keypad 2126, and/or the display/touchpad 2128. In addition, theprocessor 2118 may access information from, and store data in, any typeof suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 2130 and/or theremovable memory 2132. The non-removable memory 2130 may includerandom-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or anyother type of memory storage device. The removable memory 2132 mayinclude a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, asecure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, theprocessor 2118 may access information from, and store data in, memorythat is not physically located on the WTRU 2102, such as on a server ora home computer (not shown).

The processor 2118 may receive power from the power source 2134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the power to the othercomponents in the WTRU 2102. The power source 2134 may be any suitabledevice for powering the WTRU 2102. For example, the power source 2134may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 2118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 2136, whichmay be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude andlatitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 2102. In additionto, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 2136, the WTRU2102 may receive location information over the air interface 2116 from abase station (e.g., base stations 2114 a, 2114 b) and/or determine itslocation based on the timing of the signals being received from two ormore nearby base stations. It should be appreciated that the WTRU 2102may acquire location information by way of any suitablelocation-determination method while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

The processor 2118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 2138,which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules thatprovide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. For example, the peripherals 2138 may include anaccelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera(for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internetbrowser, and the like.

FIG. 21C is a system diagram of an embodiment of the communicationssystem 2100 that includes a RAN 2104 a and a core network 2106 a thatcomprise example implementations of the RAN 2104 and the core network2106, respectively. As noted above, the RAN 2104, for instance the RAN2104 a, may employ a UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs2102 a, 2102 b, and 2102 c over the air interface 2116. The RAN 2104 amay also be in communication with the core network 2106 a. As shown inFIG. 21C, the RAN 2104 a may include Node-Bs 2140 a, 2140 b, 2140 c,which may each include one or more transceivers for communicating withthe WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c over the air interface 2116. TheNode-Bs 2140 a, 2140 b, 2140 c may each be associated with a particularcell (not shown) within the RAN 2104 a. The RAN 2104 a may also includeRNCs 2142 a, 2142 b. It should be appreciated that the RAN 2104 a mayinclude any number of Node-Bs and RNCs while remaining consistent withan embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 21C, the Node-Bs 2140 a, 2140 b may be in communicationwith the RNC 2142 a. Additionally, the Node-B 2140 c may be incommunication with the RNC 2142 b. The Node-Bs 2140 a, 2140 b, 2140 cmay communicate with the respective RNCs 2142 a, 2142 b via an Iubinterface. The RNCs 2142 a, 2142 b may be in communication with oneanother via an Iur interface. Each of the RNCs 2142 a, 2142 b may beconfigured to control the respective Node-Bs 2140 a, 2140 b, 2140 c towhich it is connected. In addition, each of the RNCs 2142 a, 2142 b maybe configured to carry out or support other functionality, such as outerloop power control, load control, admission control, packet scheduling,handover control, macrodiversity, security functions, data encryption,and the like.

The core network 2106 a shown in FIG. 21C may include a media gateway(MGW) 2144, a mobile switching center (MSC) 2146, a serving GPRS supportnode (SGSN) 2148, and/or a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 2150. Whileeach of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the core network2106 a, it should be appreciated that any one of these elements may beowned and/or operated by an entity other than the core network operator.

The RNC 2142 a in the RAN 2104 a may be connected to the MSC 2146 in thecore network 2106 a via an IuCS interface. The MSC 2146 may be connectedto the MGW 2144. The MSC 2146 and the MGW 2144 may provide the WTRUs2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c with access to circuit-switched networks, such asthe PSTN 2108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c and traditional land-line communications devices.

The RNC 2142 a in the RAN 2104 a may also be connected to the SGSN 2148in the core network 2106 a via an IuPS interface. The SGSN 2148 may beconnected to the GGSN 2150. The SGSN 2148 and the GGSN 2150 may providethe WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c with access to packet-switchednetworks, such as the Internet 2110, to facilitate communicationsbetween and the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c and IP-enabled devices.

As noted above, the core network 2106 a may also be connected to thenetworks 2112, which may include other wired or wireless networks thatare owned and/or operated by other service providers.

FIG. 21D is a system diagram of an embodiment of the communicationssystem 2100 that includes a RAN 2104 b and a core network 2106 b thatcomprise example implementations of the RAN 2104 and the core network2106, respectively. As noted above, the RAN 2104, for instance the RAN2104 b, may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with theWTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, and 2102 c over the air interface 2116. The RAN2104 b may also be in communication with the core network 2106 b.

The RAN 2104 b may include eNode-Bs 2140 d, 2140 e, 2140 f, though itshould be appreciated that the RAN 2104 b may include any number ofeNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs2140 d, 2140 e, 2140 f may each include one or more transceivers forcommunicating with the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c over the airinterface 2116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 2140 d, 2140 e, 2140 fmay implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 2140 d, for example,may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receivewireless signals from, the WTRU 2102 a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 2140 d, 2140 e, and 2140 f may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the uplink and/or downlink, and the like. As shown in FIG. 21D, theeNode-Bs 2140 d, 2140 e, 2140 f may communicate with one another over anX2 interface.

The core network 2106 b shown in FIG. 21D may include a mobilitymanagement gateway (MME) 2143, a serving gateway 2145, and a packet datanetwork (PDN) gateway 2147. While each of the foregoing elements isdepicted as part of the core network 2106 b, it should be appreciatedthat any one of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entityother than the core network operator.

The MME 2143 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 2140 d, 2140 e,and 2140 f in the RAN 2104 b via an S1 interface and may serve as acontrol node. For example, the MME 2143 may be responsible forauthenticating users of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, beareractivation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway duringan initial attach of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, and the like. TheMME 2143 may also provide a control plane function for switching betweenthe RAN 2104 b and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radiotechnologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

The serving gateway 2145 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 2140d, 2140 e, 2140 f in the RAN 2104 b via the S1 interface. The servinggateway 2145 may generally route and forward user data packets to/fromthe WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c. The serving gateway 2145 may alsoperform other functions, such as anchoring user planes duringinter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when downlink data isavailable for the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, managing and storingcontexts of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, and the like.

The serving gateway 2145 may also be connected to the PDN gateway 2147,which may provide the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c with access topacket-switched networks, such as the Internet 2110, to facilitatecommunications between the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c and IP-enableddevices.

The core network 2106 b may facilitate communications with othernetworks. For example, the core network 2106 b may provide the WTRUs2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c with access to circuit-switched networks, such asthe PSTN 2108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c and traditional land-line communications devices. Forexample, the core network 2106 b may include, or may communicate with,an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) thatserves as an interface between the core network 2106 b and the PSTN2108. In addition, the core network 2106 b may provide the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c with access to the networks 2112, which may include otherwired or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by otherservice providers.

FIG. 21E is a system diagram of an embodiment of the communicationssystem 2100 that includes a RAN 2104 c and a core network 2106 c thatcomprise example implementations of the RAN 2104 and the core network2106, respectively. The RAN 2104, for instance the RAN 2104 c, may be anaccess service network (ASN) that employs IEEE 802.16 radio technologyto communicate with the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, and 2102 c over the airinterface 2116. As described herein, the communication links between thedifferent functional entities of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c, theRAN 2104 c, and the core network 2106 c may be defined as referencepoints.

As shown in FIG. 21E, the RAN 2104 c may include base stations 2140 g,2140 h, 2140 i, and an ASN gateway 2141, though it should be appreciatedthat the RAN 2104 c may include any number of base stations and ASNgateways while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The basestations 2140 g, 2140 h, 2140 i may each be associated with a particularcell (not shown) in the RAN 2104 c and may each include one or moretransceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 cover the air interface 2116. In one embodiment, the base stations 2140g, 2140 h, 2140 i may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the base station2140 g, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wirelesssignals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 2102 a. The basestations 2140 g, 2140 h, 2140 i may also provide mobility managementfunctions, such as handoff triggering, tunnel establishment, radioresource management, traffic classification, quality of service (QoS)policy enforcement, and the like. The ASN Gateway 2141 may serve as atraffic aggregation point and may be responsible for paging, caching ofsubscriber profiles, routing to the core network 2106 c, and the like.

The air interface 2116 between the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c and theRAN 2104 c may be defined as an R1 reference point that implements theIEEE 802.16 specification. In addition, each of the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102b, and 2102 c may establish a logical interface (not shown) with thecore network 2106 c. The logical interface between the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c and the core network 2106 c may be defined as an R2reference point, which may be used for authentication, authorization, IPhost configuration management, and/or mobility management.

The communication link between each of the base stations 2140 g, 2140 h,2140 i may be defined as an R8 reference point that includes protocolsfor facilitating WTRU handovers and the transfer of data between basestations. The communication link between the base stations 2140 g, 2140h, 2140 i and the ASN gateway 2141 may be defined as an R6 referencepoint. The R6 reference point may include protocols for facilitatingmobility management based on mobility events associated with each of theWTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c.

As shown in FIG. 21E, the RAN 2104 c may be connected to the corenetwork 2106 c. The communication link between the RAN 2104 c and thecore network 2106 c may defined as an R3 reference point that includesprotocols for facilitating data transfer and mobility managementcapabilities, for example. The core network 2106 c may include a mobileIP home agent (MIP-HA) 2154, an authentication, authorization,accounting (AAA) server 2156, and a gateway 2158. While each of theforegoing elements is depicted as part of the core network 2106 c, itshould be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and/oroperated by an entity other than the core network operator.

The MIP-HA may be responsible for IP address management, and may enablethe WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, and 2102 c to roam between different ASNsand/or different core networks. The MIP-HA 2154 may provide the WTRUs2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c with access to packet-switched networks, such asthe Internet 2110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 2102a, 2102 b, 2102 c and IP-enabled devices. The AAA server 2156 may beresponsible for user authentication and for supporting user services.The gateway 2158 may facilitate interworking with other networks. Forexample, the gateway 2158 may provide the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 cwith access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 2108, tofacilitate communications between the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c andtraditional landline communications devices. In addition, the gateway2158 may provide the WTRUs 2102 a, 2102 b, 2102 c with access to thenetworks 2112, which may include other wired or wireless networks thatare owned and/or operated by other service providers.

Although not shown in FIG. 21E, it should be appreciated that the RAN2104 c may be connected to other ASNs and the core network 2106 c may beconnected to other core networks. The communication link between the RAN2104 c the other ASNs may be defined as an R4 reference point, which mayinclude protocols for coordinating the mobility of the WTRUs 2102 a,2102 b, 2102 c between the RAN 2104 c and the other ASNs. Thecommunication link between the core network 2106 c and the other corenetworks may be defined as an R5 reference point, which may includeprotocols for facilitating interworking between home core networks andvisited core networks.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element may be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronicsignals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andcomputer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storagemedia include, but are not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductormemory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removabledisks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks,and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association withsoftware may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for usein a WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer. Featuresand/or elements described herein in accordance with one or more exampleembodiments may be used in combination with features and/or elementsdescribed herein in accordance with one or more other exampleembodiments.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of video decoding, the method comprising:receiving a video signal and a high-pass filter that is optimized forthe video signal; applying the high-pass filter to a luma plane pixel ofthe video signal to determine a chroma offset; and adding the chromaoffset to a corresponding chroma plane pixel of the video signal.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication of aregion of the video signal to which the high-pass filter is to beapplied; and applying the high-pass filter to the region.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising receiving an indication to apply thehigh-pass filter to at least one of a sequence level, a picture level, aslice level, or a block level of the video signal.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein applying the high-pass filter is performed in asingle-layer video coding process as post-processing.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein applying the high-pass filter is performed in amulti-layer video coding process, the luma plane pixel is an upsampledbase layer luma plane pixel, and the chroma plane pixel is an upsampledbase layer chroma plane pixel.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinapplying the high-pass filter is performed in a multi-layer video codingprocess, the luma plane pixel is a base layer luma plane pixel that hasnot been upsampled, and the chroma plane pixel is an upsampled baselayer chroma plane pixel.
 7. A video coding device comprising: a networkinterface that is configured to: receive a video signal and a high-passfilter that is optimized for the video signal; and a processor that isconfigured to: apply the high-pass filter to a luma plane pixel of thevideo signal to determine a chroma offset; and add the chroma offset toa corresponding chroma plane pixel of the video signal.
 8. The videocoding device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configuredto: receive, via the network interface, an indication of a region of thevideo signal to which the high-pass filter is to be applied; and applythe high-pass filter to the region.
 9. The video coding device of claim7, wherein the processor is further configured to receive, via thenetwork interface, an indication to apply the high-pass filter to atleast one of a sequence level, a picture level, a slice level, or ablock level of the video signal.
 10. The video coding device of claim 7,wherein the processor is configured to apply the high-pass filter in asingle-layer video coding process as post-processing.
 11. The videocoding device of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to applythe high-pass filter in a multi-layer video coding process, the lumaplane pixel is an upsampled base layer luma plane pixel, and the chromaplane pixel is an upsampled base layer chroma plane pixel.
 12. The videocoding device of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to applythe high-pass filter in a multi-layer video coding process, the lumaplane pixel is a base layer luma plane pixel that has not beenupsampled, and the chroma plane pixel is an upsampled base layer chromaplane pixel.